Hozoin-Ryu
|image=DynastyWarriors8XtremeLegends_2013091013_003.jpg_600_thumb.jpg |unnamed jutsu=No |parent jutsu=Chakra Flow, Chakra Enhanced Strength, Chakra Enhanced Speed |jutsu rank=S |jutsu classification=Fighting Style, Bukijutsu, Soujutsu, Taijutsu, Chakra Flow |jutsu class type=Offensive, Defensive |jutsu range=Short, Mid, Long |users=In'ei Taizen, Nagayasu Hirano, Kishu Arashi, Senjin Shuhan, Subaru Aoki, Kurotabo Hiei, Nankobo Tenkai, Shiyu Kusanagi, Kubasake Akihiro, Meng Lu, Himura Nakago |debut shippuden=No |jutsu media=Anime, Manga }} The Style The exceedingly difficult-to-master brand of soujutsu taught exclusively at In'ei Temple. Its sheer difficulty earns this style an S-Rank classification, though it is possible for persons of chunin level skill to utilize it. This Fighting Style is a branching art that unites all attacks with pole weapons such as halberds, spears, and bo staffs. It can be both "external" and "hard" in an offensive mode, and "internal" and "soft" in defensive mode (used for defending against multiple enemies, or overwhelming force). The offensive mode of the style in continuous use would be a drain on the user's stamina, so it is necessary to switch to the defensive mode every so often. The form features practiced, uniquely optimized forms of movement so that the user can move with a perfect economy of force and speed in regard to both offense and defense, resulting in a very high degree of difficulty in mastering the style. Continuous, artful movements of varying speeds allow the user a high degree of unpredictability and an increased range of attack. This provides a distinct advantage over shorter weapons. Physical Conditioning To be able to adequately fight using this style, the student must first train his or her body to absolute peak physical condition. They must also achieve expertise in hand to hand combat sans weaponry. While Resshūken is preferred, any taijutsu style can be substituted. After they have done so and mastered the initial forms, they may call themselves Novices of Hozoin-Ryu. The training methods are meant to create in practitioners enhanced physical prowess on par with, even exceeding that of the Strong Fist style of fighting. Reflexes, experience, muscle memory, combat perception, evasion, strength, agility, acrobatics, and striking speed are all on par with Strong Fist users along with other top-tier fighting styles, giving Hozoin-Ryu users physical prowess that is peak human. This being the case, once Adept level skill is gained in this style, which at the lowest levels is roughly equivalent to Jonin level combat aptitude, their movements bleed together and blur in such a way that a multitude of after-images are often produced from the simplest of attacks and parries. In addition, they are able to use this speed and their incredible reflexes to instantly switch from offense to defense and vice-versa, often in the same fluid movement. The specific movements of the spear inhibit even extremely experienced close range fighters from utilizing experience or movement prediction alone to evade or counter. The non-linearity and the ability to reach all angles at a distance while maintaining a high degree of unpredictability draws comparisons to Drunken Fist in terms of this aspect. Nearly all of this even a Novice can do without utilizing chakra. Mastery Hozoin-Ryu has three levels of mastery, though within levels there are different scales of experience and skillfulness. Generally, the levels are Novice, Adept, and Master. Elite status is a designation that denotes the highest level of skill in each area, but is not often spoken of in consideration of the first level. Adept is a broad category that can be used to describe even elite jonin equivalent skill in the style. Mastery denotes S-class skill. Examinations are given in order to graduate to the next level. To become a master, or shihan, one must defeat a master in single combat. Additionally, only the current head of the Temple can affirm this designation. Offense The offensive aspects of the style focus on conditioning the user on an instinctive basis to, when fighting with a pole weapon, always keep the opponent within a certain zone of attack to optimize offense while still retaining the ability to defend oneself. By keeping the opponent a comfortable distance away the user is able to focus more on offense. Taking advantage of the extended reach of the harubado, Hozoin-Ryu holds a distinct advantage over weapons with shorter reaches, besetting the enemy with a relentless flurry of vigorous assaults at range. Such is the speed of the thrusts and sweeping maneuvers, even a fully developed Sharingan can have real trouble predicting and reacting to the assaults, and it is a style every bit as deadly as Killer Bee's Seven Swords Dance, leaving just as few openings due to the speeds involved. In the interest of pressing the advantage, practitioners of this weapons form are able to close considerable distance in a short space of time relying on pure agility as long as the opponent is within 15 meters of their position, even without the aid of chakra. Practitioners of Hozoin-ryu at any level can intercept a hand seal sequence with as much efficiency and lethality as could Mifune, a master of kenjutsu. In this way, the style parallels iaido and matches it in its combat effectiveness, especially against ninja who rely on hand signs. In addition, because of the increased reach of weapons such as naginata, this ability is even more effective in the hands of an Adept or Master of Hozoin-Ryu. Because of the extended reach of the weapons used in this form the user is able to deliver attacks faster than the time it takes to form a hand seal, forcing ninja to attempt to physically dodge or block the user's strike. Thus, this weapons form is extremely effective in closing the distance and forcing a direct physical confrontation. An Adept can fight fluidly with two polearms at once. The draw back to this form is that the user will not be able to fight quite as effectively in extreme close quarters, nor can the advantage be maintained if the opponent's weapon is sufficiently heavy or of similar length to the user's. If the opponent can manage to get too close, blocking the movements of the staff, this form becomes much less potent. Practitioners are trained to be able to throw spears and halberds with incredible power and accuracy. Their abilities in this regard are so superb that when thrown, the spear's velocity exceeds that of an arrow launched from a bow. With the weight and speed of the object factored in, and the years of practice it takes to perfect this skill, as well as the fact that once thrown they can be difficult to retrieve, the user must be quite sure they will be able to land a blow if they dare to throw their weapon. Adding Chakra Flow to the spear when thrown of course makes them all the more deadly. Some users have specific spear throwing techniques unique to them, but all Adepts, and even experienced Novices are able to throw their harubado with incredible velocity and accuracy. Defense The style is also excellent at defense and evasive maneuvers. The defensive aspects of the style rely on perception and awareness of surroundings. By using deceptively quick sweeping movements the user is able to divert force away from their body easily by simultaneously shifting into the least accessible position while also not confronting the force directly when necessary. This can work to defend the user even from extremely swift assaults. The user can easily alternate between offence and defense, as this form allows for fluid transition. In addition the user is trained to whip the staff around their body so quickly, they are able to block multiple projectiles from several directions easily so long as none are fired from a blind spot. This form is less effective in close quarters or in tight, confined spaces with places to potentially catch the staff weapon and halt its movement. Adept skill in the style allows the user to fight on par with close range combat masters on equal terms, and mastery of the style allows the user the ability to fight on equal terms with nearly any opponent. The defensive mode of Hozoin-Ryu must incorporate punches, kicks and many other taijutsu maneuvers in order to deal with threats that encroach too closely for soujutsu to deal with. This is why in order to learn the skill practitioners are required to have learned taijutsu. The taijutsu style that works best with Hozoin-ryu is Resshūken. Even without learning Resshuken, practitioners must be well-versed in this area. Concussive Chakra Flow All practitioners are trained as part of the style to master the unique ability to stream their chakra in this manner. Novices are rarely taught this ability because it is dangerous. The monks treat it as an A-S ranked skill, even though it is not quite a jutsu in and of itself. It is more of a knack or unique trait. The monks use Chakra Flow both offensively and defensively, in both Bukijutsu, and Taijutsu. This is not as much of an overkill as the layman believes, for the monks use this ability to knock opponents out using the concussive blowback even if they do not land a direct hit, therefore potentially sparing lives. At it's most basic level, the chakra overflow results in an erupting visible aura (though this can be mitigated with more skillful chakra control), and this specific chakra flow technique produces incredible concussive force, and/or a sharp edge around the weapon or body part, in its turn increasing the durability and sharpness of the affected weapon or body part. Adepts can add elemental chakra flow to the spear with generic effects, as well as user-specific effects. Even with basic chakra flow however, an Adept can create devastating impacts on the level of Chakra Enhanced Strength. Additionally, if the user's natural speed is not quite enough, the chakra can be molded in such a way as to mimic the the Body Flicker Technique, providing further increased agility in bursts, or, for longer term use, a slightly lesser version of Chakra Enhanced Speed. Even at the Novice level a simple version of the chakra flow technique allows the user vastly increased combat aptitude. Category:Taijutsu Category:Chakra Flow Category:Soujutsu